Teen drama series 13 Reasons Why, which was seemingly engineered in a lab to generate maximum outrage and controversy, has proved to be a massive hit for Netflix, and as the show heads into its highly-anticipated third season, the cast are demanding hefty pay raises.
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Production on the new batch of episodes is just about to kick off, with table reads for the script due to happen next week, but industry publication Deadline says that pay negotiations are still ongoing, and producers may have to cough up.
21-year-old Dylan Minnette, who plays Clay, is the show’s headline actor after the departure of its other original lead, Katherine Langford. He is now said to be hanging out for a salary somewhere in the region of $200,000 per episode for the new season.
The show’s supporting cast, including Brandon Flynn, Alisha Boe, Justin Prentice, Christian Navarro, Miles Heizer, Devin Druid and Ross Butler are reported to be seeking something in the range of $150,000 per episode.
That’s way way up from their starting salaries – Minnette was said to be earning around $80,000 per episode, with the rest bringing in between $20,000 and $60,000 – although it’s customary for the casts of successful shows to renegotiate salaries at around this time.
$200k per episode might seem like a lot, but Netflix is willing to pay big bucks to keep the stars of its breakout shows happy. Deadline claims that the child actors on Stranger Things are paid a rumoured $250k per episode, whereas the adults make close to $350k.
It’s worth noting that the third season of 13 Reasons Why will run for an expected 13 episodes, whereas Stranger Things will run for only eight, but either way, the casts of both shows are in for a pretty sweet payday.
While Netflix famously doesn’t release viewership figures, the streaming service has said that 13 Reasons is one of its biggest and best performers, with CEO Reed Hastings telling a recent shareholder meeting that it has proved to be “enormously popular.”
